Red Satin
by Sakura Blackwolf
Summary: While wearing that dress of red satin, Aerith remembers the time she spent with Zack, before his dear departure to Nibelheim(Zack/Aerith)


I love Zack/Aerith fics. Too bad there ain't many of 'em, like the Cloud/Aerith ones. They're like fleas...Anyways, I like to think Cloud belongs to Seph, but you won't find shounen ai here! I promise! It's Zack/Aerith all the way! I think..   
  
  
  
Red Satin  
  
by Sakura Blackwolf  
  
  
"I think I'll choose this one,"Aerith said, walking over to the rack of dresses and ignoring the stream of, "huh?" The brunette smiled as from her fingers her drew forth a beautiful red dress. Slowly, she ran her pale fingers over the red satin. Spinning around on her heel, Aerith headed straight for the dressing room, dismissing the gazes brought upon her. A smile curved on his face and before stepping into the stall, the flower girl looked over her shoulder and winked, "No peeking." and then the curtain closed.  
  
Discarding her former outfit, Aerith looked at herself in the mirror. As her fingers ran over the soft material, she smiled sadly at her reflection. Sighing heavily, the girl let her arms move, hands busy unbraiding her hair. To her, the reflection in front as practically a blur. It didn't matter what was in front of her sight, but even then it then take long for her to see she had stopped smiling completely.   
  
Red satin...  
  
She wore something like this on her first date with him..  
  
Zack Donovan  
  
  
  
"Aerith-chan! Konnichi wa!," when he smiled it was like the sun coming up after the rain, or so she liked to think. Aerith eyed the outfit Zack had on. It was the SOLDIERS uniform, a shinra uniform. The deep blue cloth was worn, she noticed, and dusty. But the armor she normally saw on a SOLDIER was missing from the outfit, leaving the older man clad in only blue. Zack grinned sheepishly, " Eh, I'm sorry Aerith-chan. I just came back from a mission. Hell, I'm lucky Sephiroth spared me enough to send me early so I wouldn't miss you!"  
  
She smiled, "It's ok, Zack-kun. I don't mind as long as you promise not to drag along the sword."  
  
He laughed, music to her ears, "Alright then!" He scratched his spiky head, before noticing the dress Aerith had worn. A red dress. No. A red dress of satin that reached her knees. The occasional pink bow he always saw her wearing was tied to her braided auburn hair, like all the previous meetings before this evening. She smiled, and nervously gripped the material at her sides.  
  
"I look stupid, don't I?"  
  
Zack blinked, realizing he was staring"No! Of course not Aerith-chan! You look like an angel," and he gave her another smile, one gentle, not goofy like his smiles were normally seen. The flower girl's grip loosened as her cheeks colored at the sweet compliment. Her emerald eyes lit up, "So, where do you want to go?"  
  
"Well, I don't know. Maybe we could get something to eat-I'm starving!,"he laughed, soon joined by that of a female voice. Zack anxiously grabbed Aerith's hand and practically dragged the poor girl to the nearest resturant. The place they went to called themselves, Seventh Heaven, having been run for many years. Sure it was a bar, but it was also a resturant, which is why Zack liked it so much. Aerith looked around. In the background, she faintly caught the sound of music playing. The song, Eyes On Me, her mind helped. A smile graced her pale pink lips. She remembered hearing this song at home when her mother, Ifalna, played it on the radio. A melancholy wave collasped over her. She missed her mother, but that was when she met that wonderful woman, Elmyra. She loved Elmyra, but would always love her real mother more. She was the one to support her from birth after all. Her gaze lifted as a pale hand clamped down on her bare shoulder, and caught Zack smiling at her with such kindness, she forgot all about her trouble.  
  
The two sat down at a table closest to them. Zack stared at the menu with furrowed eyebrows. What should he get this time? This was probably the one chance for a month or two to actually have REAL food. Unlike that icky cafeteria food from SOLDIER. He swore it was made outta cardboard. "Are you alright?"  
  
Zack looked up and caught Aerith staring at him, "Hm?"  
  
"You seem frustrated," he smiled, "Nah. It's just I don't get oppportunities like this often to eat real food. All that SOLDIER food stinks," and to emphasize his point, wrinkled his nose in disgust, which caused the younger woman to giggle.  
  
"I can imagine."  
  
"Yeah. Just think hospital food," she giggled again.  
  
A moment later they had taken their orders and first were given their drinks like all other resturants do. Zack slipped absently at his soda, hoping that his stomach would stop shifting with movement if he drank. Aerith seemed to have no problems with starvation however. Then again, Aerith didn't go on six hour mission with only a blasted bathroom break. Zack felt vexed at this. God, nobody knew how horrible this so called "glorious life of a SOLDIER" can be. Only a bathroom break! His mind reminded him. Zack almost thought of whimpering aloud, until the food came that is. In fact, Aerith could've sworn she saw the SOLDIER's eyes sparkle with the wetness of tears forged from happiness and relief.  
  
"Didn't get any food, I suppose?"  
  
Zack nodded with much enthusiasm and the waiter barely had time to pull his hand away before Zack started plowing down through his food. Aerith laughed and ate at a much slower pace than her companion. Zack looked up with rippled, puffed out cheeks full of food, and Aerith laughed again when a line of red spread on his face. In one big gulp( and couple hundred chews), the food that puffed out his colored cheeks was gone. The SOLDIER grinned sheepishly, "Er...sorry."  
  
The flower girl giggled, "It's fine, Zack-kun. I can understand why'd you'd be hungry."  
  
"Heh..," He sweatdropped and scratched his spikey head, "Say, you wanna go to the pier afterwards?"  
  
"Zack..the water here, even the ocean they show is fake. You know that," she commented quietly.  
  
"I know, I know.. but they're going to tear it down soon for a new buliding of barracks," he sighed, "I love the water. I mean, fake or not, I just find comfort with it. There's something about the ocean that makes me..calm. I just...want to see it before Shinra sucks it all up and throws it away." Aerith smiled at him, "Why not? I'll have you know, I love water too."  
  
Zack smiled at her, "Great. I was starting to think I was being selfish here."  
  
She shook her head,"You aren't! I just happen to be out of ideas when it comes to dates. Especially in Midgar. I don't go out much around here," and shared the same sheepish look Zack previously had.  
  
  
  
"It's nice..for something that's fake isn't it?"  
  
Aerith smiled at him and nodded, "Yes." She stepped out of her red shoes and sat herself down on the pier's edge. The height wasn't very high over the water, and fortunately there was nothing really living in there. With these facts, Aerith dipped her legs into the artifical liquid, making sure the red satin of her dress didn't get drenched. She idly swung her legs back and forth, letting the water which was at her calfs splash over her bare kneecaps, if she wasn't too lazy to kick hard that is. The flower girl felt the SOLDIER's smile on her as he sat down with her, only he didn't bother to free his feet of the uniform's boots or even stick his feet in the water. All the First class - SOLDIER did was hunch over and run his fingers inside, watching the rippled come and go.  
  
"I don't know if I really did want to be a SOLDIER, Aerith-chan," he said, letting his soaked hand rest on the wooden support. Zack tipped his head and idly watched the glow of lights from the tall Shinra buliding. The SOLDIER sighed heavily, "Aerith, my home wasn't something I was proud of. It was so weak. Never once did they stand up for themselves. They let Shinra bulid a mako reacter there. They let their lives be run by Shinra. I wanted to leave, but I didn't know where to go. Shinra was everywhere, but you know what Aerith?" his gaze shifted to that of the SOLDIER academy buliding," I figured if I joined SOLDIER, I would be able to help my hometown get through bad times, or monster attacks. But now I don't know if I regret it, or if I should've rebelled."  
  
"Hometown....," Aerith repeated, and paused for a second before speaking up again, "Zack, I think what you're doing is in good intentions. It's nice you want to help your hometown. Most SOLDIERS I've seen mainly joined so they could be famous, or hope to be. But, Zack, you really are something special," she turned her head to look at him, who now had his head down, "And I'm glad you decided to come here, or else I wouldn't have met you." She smiled when Zack lifted his head again, and quietly scooted closer, dragging her soaked feet along. The brunette watched as the liquid pooled across her legs rippled and then stopped. Zack leaned his head against her's when Aerith rested her braided head against his bare shoulder. He smiled faintly, as his ghostly eyes wandered and searched the distance that spread the synthetic ocean. An arm curled itself around her thin shoulders, as in a soft voice did he whisper:  
  
"You're right. If I didn't come here, I would never have met you."  
  
  
  
  
The flower girl's long, brunette hair tumbled over her shoulders as she looked at the dress of red satin that hugged her body. With melancholy eyes at the mirror, she tied her previously braided hair in a ponytail with her old, pink strip of cloth, and the white materia from her dear mother. She had felt him leave. Felt him returning to the planet. Gone within the lifestream. Elmyra had asked her what was wrong that day, but she said nothing and only cried on.   
  
"Zack..you broke your promise...you said you would come back..."she whispered, brushing at moist eyelashes. Making sure it didn't look like she was going to cry, she stepped out of the dressing room. Cloud was there to greet her, which made her smile. At first, it scared her, how she saw Zack in Cloud, but now she knew that this is what she needed. Cloud was there, but from a distance so was Zack, smiling at her from the lifestream. The sensation of knowing it rushed through her veins. Even though, he hadn't really come back, seeing Cloud made her almost believe he had. Almost, but...  
  
  
that was all she needed.  
  
A ting of hope.  
  
  
-Owari- 


End file.
